“Health Care Showdown[2],” by Paul Krugman, Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist:

“For the record, neither regional health cooperatives nor state-level public plans, both of which have been proposed as alternatives [to the public option], would have the financial stability and bargaining power needed to bring down health care costs.”

“[The co-op plan is]…not going to have the ability to be a cost-control backstop, much less a benchmark for private plans, because they are not going to have the reach or authority to implement innovative delivery and payment reforms.”